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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

Barchester
Towers by Anthony Trollope is the second book in the Chronicles of Barsetshire
series. I found this novel to be one of the most enjoyable that I have ever
read. It is complex in all sorts of ways, masterfully written, has marvelous
characters and, to top it all off, it is very funny.

The
plot picks up approximately five years since the conclusion of The
Warden. Once
again, we get to look into the lives of the various inhabitants of the city of
Barchester. These include the elderly and meek, yet wise and virtuous,
clergyman Septimus Harding, his now widowed daughter, Eleanor Bold, and his overbearing
son-in-law, Archdeacon Grantly.

When
the beloved bishop of the diocese passes away, a new bishop, Dr. Proudie, is appointed.
Proudie is an extremely weak man who is controlled by two schemers: his hypocritical
and domineering wife, Mrs. Proudie, and his personal minister, the manipulative
and self-serving Mr. Obadiah Slope. Both set their sites on taking power in the
diocese at the expense of the longtime residents and eventually at the expense
of each other. A war of social, political and ecclesiastical maneuvering soon
breaks out between the newcomers and the long-term residents. Eventually, Mrs.
Proudie and Mr. Slope also begin to vie against one another.

Complicating matters is the
return of the Stanhope family to Barchester. Dr. Stanhope is a local clergyman
who has been living in Italy. The Stanhope children are narcissistic, vulgar
and manipulative. Among them are the seductive and calculating Signora Madeline
Vesey Neroni and the flippant, irresponsible Ethelbert "Bertie"
Stanhope. These characters proceed to cause all sorts of strife in Barchester.

I
found it difficult to decide where to focus in this post, as this novel is so
full of wonderful elements. There is so very much to comment upon here. The aspects
that strike me the most are how well crafted and nuanced several of the characters
are, and just how amusing, even downright funny, this book is.

Trollope seems to better understand
and represent the complexities of life than do all but a small minority
authors. He reflects reality in a way that is amazingly real and multifaceted. When
characters act, it is usually for a variety of mixed motives, ranging from the
noble to the nefarious. Misunderstandings are often infused with some truth.
Situations and people are rarely simplistic.

The
complexity of the personas that Trollope has created in this work is indeed
impressive. The people he has fashioned here may be the most realistic
fictional characters that I have ever encountered. As in real life, Barchester
is populated with good people, really bad people, and people who are in
between. However, unlike the creations of many authors, the good characters
almost always show some flaws, and the bad characters occasionally show good
traits. The folks who are in the middle are very complicated indeed.

In
my opinion, Trollope’s in-between characters are the best. Archdeacon Grantly
is a case in point. This man is overbearing, arrogant and often a bully. Yet,
he seems to have a moral core that is real but imperfect. As his father, the
Bishop of Barchester, is on his deathbed, Grantly is indeed distraught.
However, the timing of his father’s death is an issue. Because of an impending
change in government, if the Bishop dies soon, the Archdeacon will likely be
appointed the next Bishop. However, if the old Bishop lives much longer, it is
unlikely that the Archdeacon will ever become Bishop. Situations are rarely
simple in this novel.Muddling this
issue is the fact that the dying Bishop is suffering, so that a reasonable response
from a relative would be a desire for the end to come with some haste.

The
Archdeacon’s response is similarly complicated,

Nothing could be easier than the
old man's passage from this world to the next. But by no means easy were the
emotions of him who sat there watching. He knew it must be now or never. He was
already over fifty, and there was little chance that his friends who were now
leaving office would soon return to it. No probable British prime minister but
he who was now in, he who was so soon to be out, would think of making a bishop
of Dr. Grandly. Thus he thought long and sadly, in deep silence, and then gazed
at that still living face, and then at last dared to ask himself whether he
really longed for his father's death. The effort was a salutary one, and the
question was answered in a moment. The proud, wishful, worldly man sank on his
knees by the bedside and, taking the bishop's hand within his own, prayed
eagerly that sins might be forgiven him.

This
book is also very funny and sometimes even hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud on several
occasions. Once again, as in The
Warden I get the sense that the author is
taking the middle ground, even in his humor. Trollope skewers conservatism and
stuffiness as well as liberality and lack of restraint with equal vigor. The wit ranges from the subtle
to the bitingly sarcastic, and occasionally it veers towards the physical.

At one point, Trollope
comments on peoples’ tendency, in times of distress, to find solace from fickle
and untruthful folks in the innocence of babies,

This kind of consolation from the world's deceit is very common. Mothers
obtain it from their children, and men from their dogs. Some men even do so
from their walking-sticks, which is just as rational. How is it that we can
take joy to ourselves in that we are not deceived by those who have not
attained the art to deceive us? In a true man, if such can be found, or a true
woman, much consolation may indeed be taken.

Ironically, I sense that the
above displays an understanding of such refuges that people find, even as such
refuges are being mocked.

There is a lot more here. The
work is full of additional fascinating characters that I have not even
mentioned. It is brimming with themes and insights. It is chock full of
wonderful mythological allusions. The writing style is extremely well crafted
and innovative, a point that I will explore in a separate post.

This is a highly recommended
read for anyone with the slightest inclination toward nineteenth century
English novels. Unless a person were to be completely adverse to that art form,
it is hard to imagine why anyone would not like this book. As someone who insists
upon reading series in order, I would recommend the very worthwhile The
Wardenfirst.I
cannot wait to move on to the later entries in this series.

My commentary on the first book in the Chronicles
of Barsetshire series, The
Warden is here.

My commentary on the third book in the Chronicles of
Barsetshire series, Doctor
Thorne is here.

Wow. This author was not even on my radar, but I must put it on my TBR list pronto. Thanks.

I found you method of choosing books to be excellent! I really like the loose structure you have rotating between the types of books you want to read. It seems like such a good idea to decide which genres/subjects you want to read about, then rotate between the topics. It gives a framework, but still allows for the whims of the reader. I've been thinking about that for my own reading. It would mean that I wouldn't get to the end of the year and then figure out I hadn't read much nonfiction/history!

Hi Suko - Trollope has lots of books available and has a beloved following, I believe that he has several series available. If you are like me and insist on reading in order you may want to be sure that you get the first one.

Such high praise. I'm glad you enjoyed this so much. I find it interesting that the in-between charcaters are so great. I really should read him, but like Emma, I'm not keen of the length of most of his books. The Warden is an exception.

What a great and entertaining review, I really enjoyed reading it. This sounds like such a fun book to read, and I love the names of the characters - Proudie and Slope. I am adding this to my classics list. Hopefully I won't forget to read The Warden first.

From all the wonderful comments you've made about this and the previous novel in the series, "The Warden", I can see that I have to get better acquainted with Mr. Trollope! I love novels with strong, interesting characterizations, and this writer definitely incorporates them into all of his novels.

Also, I don't know much about the workings of the Church of England (except that it was founded by King Henry VIII, the Bishop of Canterbury is the closest equivalent to the Pope, and they ordain woman to the priesthood), and I think these novels will familiarize me with them, to some extent. I'm always fascinated by the details of other religions, as well as other Christian denominations.